Dark Interventions
by DarkDroid
Summary: A thousand years after the destruction of the first Death Star, the galaxy is a very different place. Centuries of peace have passed, but all that is about to change when evil emerges once again.
1. Prologue: Resurfacing

**PROLOGUE – Resurfacing**

..._N'zoth, 976 ABY..._

General Aask of the Galactic Alliance clutched his blaster rifle tightly, closing his eyes in hopes that this was a dream. He could hear cries of help from his soldiers, injured by the occurring attack on their newly founded base. His brown hair hung over his forehead, drenched with sweat, blood and dust. His dark skin was crusted with the fresh wounds of battle and his once-crisp uniform was tattered beyond recognition.

The familiar sound of blaster fire streaked through the dirtied air, and the smell of burnt flesh wisped through the battlefield in massive amounts. Carbon scouring dotted the heavy armor of the ambushed Alliance troops who tried to repel the onslaught brought upon their new base, Alpha Prime, located on the Core World of N'zoth, which was thought to have been uninhabitable after the Yuuzhan Vong Wars, deep within the Koornacht Cluster and hidden from many generations of past. Shrills were heard across the wasteland, which had been steadily transformed into a small battlefield. Blood was spilled onto the ground in massive amounts as blades ripped through the throats of surprised Alliance defenders. The speed and intelligence of their enemy was too advance and lethal.

A small band of grayish-green aliens complete with beady eyes, scarlet streaks across their boney cheeks and ragged, dust-covered clothing rushed towards the defending Alliance troops. The attackers looked strikingly familiar to walking skeletons, encased with a thin, leathery skin. The brutish aliens had cocked back their wrists with their boney fingers clenched tightly together, and from a very small slit located underneath their closed palms some sort of blade slid out; looking neither biotic nor metallic. The skeleton-like humanoids attacked, brandishing their embodied melee weapons in battle and slitting the throats of the cowardly vermin that now plague their homeworld. Occasionally, one of the alien attackers would fall to a blaster bolt to the chest and drop down limp with black smoke rising from their stricken bodies.

Other groups of assaulting aliens followed in succession, bringing the same fate with themselves. They rushed the vermin base with extreme precision and unmatched hatred for invading life. The natives of N'zoth were merciless, and they would fight to the death. Alliance troops tried desperately to fend off the aggressors, blasting one alien after another, but their numbers were too small to defend Alpha Prime.

The unusually hot sun beamed down upon the open battlefield where a few Alliance troops still stood their ground, spraying the defending soldiers with unnatural heat. Sweat dropped from their foreheads, as well as the cold drops of blood from fallen comrades and enemies; together, the bodily fluids caked on their brows, dramatically changing their appearances by hiding the troops' facial features. They couldn't tell the difference between friend and fiend in the midst of accidental disguise. The soldiers easily became withered and tiresome under their armor that was thought to protect one from all obstacles in one's way, and so, the attackers would decimate the Alliance militia with ease. A ruthless, senseless slaughter wagered across the front of N'zoth, with the natives beginning to win the day. Afterwards they would provide the vermin blood for the _etaias'_ who chose not to participate in the deadly offensive against the vermin.

They were the Yevetha, xenophobic aliens with a tendency for murder and galactic rule. They have survived after all these years; going into hiding after the vicious battle with the dastardly Yuuzhan Vong nine hundred or so standard years ago that had lead the vermin to the assumption that their species had gone in extinction. Under their new Viceroy at the time, they had waved goodbye to their glorious ways of death-before-cowardice in order to survive the deadly onslaught the Yuuzhan Vong brought upon them nearly a millennia ago. The underground protected them from the intense radiation N'zoth had gone through after the space battle that had unfolded between the royal thrustships and the Yuuzhan Vong biotic vessels. The radiation subsided many years ago and N'zoth had begun to flourish with life once more. That was what attracted Alliance colonists to the homeworld of the Yevetha.

Aask fled from his cover behind a rusty speeder and into the open, ripping a firestorm of blaster bolts towards the enemy. One by one the Yevetha fell under the general's mighty iron fist, cringing in pain and dishonor. There was, however, a foe that Aask could not tear down.

An armored alien approached Aask, walking over its fallen Yevetha kind. The armor was thick and broad, unlike the thin, leathery appearance of the attacking aliens. In fear, Aask unleashed a barrage of energy against it. The bolts were deflected upon making contact with the durable plating. General Aask could see a faint red glow beyond the mask that hid his enemy's face. With no ammo left, Aask threw his blaster aside and stumbled backwards, falling on his back as he tripped over his own weapon. The armored Yevetha warrior grabbed the human by his neck and squeezed, throttling the Alliance General to death.

A muffled cry for help could not save Aask and his men. He knew he failed his superiors. His breath whisked away with life, holding the clammy hands of death. With one last gasp for air and one last crunch of his wind pipe, Aask was separated from the Galaxy and given unto the endlessness of death.

Victory was welcomed by the reigning victors as the scent of blood flowed through the air after the Alliance's defeat. The Yevetha welcomed back their sense of pride of death and honor. But the battle for the spawn world had not been won yet. There were the stars to conquer next.

* * *

The unexpected arrival of attacking Yevethan starfighters caused the small, orbiting Alliance colonization fleet to scramble fighters. The Alliance had only two squadrons compared to the Yevetha's thirty or so squads of various aged fighter craft, many of them pieced together with uneven surfaces and shards of jagged metal jutting out from various points depending on the craft flown. Elite Squadron led the Alliance in battle.

The Alliance's own craft, the Gunblade-class of starfighters, resembled wingless ancient X-wing starfighters, which were pulled out from production after the old snubfighters' 150th model was released to the public a hundred-or-so years before the Gunblades even saw the light of day. The new snubfighters had four engines situated behind a long, smooth fuselage, with enough room for an astromech and a pilot. This was the only resemblance it had to the ancient X-wings. Placed along the side of the fuselage on outcropping slabs of plated armor, two double laser cannons were visible. Underneath the fighter were sealed compartments, which underneath held twin concussion missile launchers. The 'abdomen' of the Gunblade was much larger than that of an X-wing and was octagon-shaped for better maneuverability in atmospheric conditions and to make room for an advance gravity repulsor and stronger shield generators.

"All fighters report in," the leader of Elite Squadron commed in.

The members of Elite Squadron signed in one by one, and Elite Leader smiled at his team's confidence and enthusiasm. Soon he frowned as he saw the enemy fleet of ugly starfighters; the term for loosely constructed enemy space craft. Elite Leader lightly squeezed the trigger and saw a flash of light burst from his fighter's nose. His squad members followed his lead, hurtling bolts of energy towards the flotilla of enemy starfighters. Soon the enemy exchanged fire. Elites four through seven had burst into flames after the first barrage from the attacking fighters.

Red, green and blue lasers streaked through the void of Core space as the Alliance battled the surprising arrival of the once thought extinct Yevetha. Six Alliance fighters went down in the fray as the fighters mingled with one another. One fighter went down after another as they were picked off by the deadly rapid-fire lasers of the immense fighter force attacking the almost defenseless Alliance fleet. The flagship, a weaponless, sphere shaped colony ship named _Courier_, tried to lay a jump to hyperspace, mere seconds after a section of internal structure collapsed onto itself when a bright flash ruptured through the once peacefulness of deep space. _Courier_ was not able to make the jump, after another brilliant flash erupted and another module of the colony ship was structurally damaged after seemingly collapsing onto itself; the section of the _Courier_ that had just been rendered destroyed was the hyperdrive module. The colony ship was crushed under the intense weight of the sudden gravity anomaly outside the gigantic ship.

Another sudden gravity change outside the ship crippled the engines that propelled the _Courier_ through space.

An Alliance starfighter burst into blue sparks and its flaming fuselage careened towards the surface of N'zoth. Concentrated fire from two squads of Yevethan ugly fighters resulted in the gorgeous yet deadly explosion of one of the only armed capital ship in the Alliance fleet, the triangular gunship _Penetrator_. Two ugly fighters accidentally collided head on with each other after chasing the same target, which was one of the only remaining fighters in the fleet. The hundred-meter-long Chaser-class corvette, _Blade Runner_, managed to take down several Yevetha fighters with its four anti-starfighter cannons. They pulsated with red energy fairly quickly and tracked the attacking aliens with super high accuracy. Overwhelming force caused the _Blade Runner_ to spark at vital areas as heavy laser fire sprayed onto its bridge. The corvette's defenses were not able to do their job against the ugly fighter attack. Due to the failure of power systems, the corvette blacked out, floating in dark void as another piece of space junk.

_Courier_ was still being bombarded with gravity anomalies, and helpless colonization vessel kept looking more like a crumpled piece of paper by the minute. _Courier's _internal structure was nothing short of destroyed, with the crew nearly all dead under tremendous pressure from fallen support beams inside. Life support was failing, so the rest of the crew would die in mere minutes. Hours if they were lucky enough.

Elite leader commed in for his fellow fighters to report but no one had answered his call. He looked towards the side to see an ugly on an intercept course towards him. Another three fighters were on his tail, spraying the Gunblade fighter with green laser bolts. Elite Leader noticed his control panel was sparking. His life support began to fail as well as the propulsion systems of his fighter craft.

He couldn't breathe anymore. The cockpit suffered a blow from a direct laser bolt coming from the intercepting ugly and started to crack. Oxygen rushed outside into empty space and deprived Elite Leader of air... and life.

Death floated in the void of space surrounding N'zoth now, as it had been hundreds of years ago before this new intrusion.

Victory was won by the enemy; the Yevetha had purified their spawn world, cleansing the filth that had tried to overcome them and the _darama_. It was a glorious day to be remembered for a long time.

* * *

_No one had any warning. No distress signals were sent to the Capital. The Yevetha had now in their grasp a technological base of evil intent. They now had starships to commence a growing navy. They now had an army of ruthless killers at the darama's disposal._

_It was a new beginning; the ultimate rise of evil was at hand._


	2. Chapter One: Millennia Day

**CHAPTER ONE – Millennia Day**

..._New Coruscant, 999 ABY..._

Zak Sunrider watched the festivities from his dorm in the fifth Jedi Temple wing. He sighed knowing he could not take part in such a holiday. It meant nothing to the Jedi.

It was a day of cheer and celebration on New Coruscant. Zak watched as confetti filled the artificial air as well as hurrying transport craft and frightened hawk bats. Crowds of people stood outside from their opened balconies, waving brightly lit objects in frantic motion. Cries of laughter and joy flooded the ears of wanderers and spectators of all races. A time of joy fell over New Coruscant like a blanket of fog on the Western Sea, and spread out towards other planets throughout the Galaxy like a plague, bringing peace and heart filled feelings to others that are not as grateful for what the Galaxy has given to them. It was Millennia's Eve, the day before a new era of the Galaxy would set foot. Not only were the people of New Coruscant celebrating just for Millennia's Eve, but for the colony ships destined to arrive back home, from sectors all over.

The Jedi had forbidden their selves to participate. Materialistic holidays were not credible to the ways of the New Jedi Order. A Jedi did not want; a Jedi had to need. There was a need to clear his mind of thoughts and affections for his wants; a need to clean his soul of worth.

A Jedi needed to be aware of his surroundings, to feel the presence of the Force everywhere; to become _one_ with the Force, and separated from everything else.

A Jedi needed nothing but the Force, simply put. The only need was the Force; all other things were wants. Nothing more, nothing less; that was what the Master Jedi of the High Council expected from Zak.

Zak Sunrider was a lonely young adult, reaching the pinnacle of his padawan training at the ripe age of twenty standard years. His mind was forced to be laid on the Force, steered away from material based properties and events. He shared a likeness for his future, a Jedi Knight, so he carried the burden of separation from the real world.

Not only would he be a Jedi, Zak would be _the_ Jedi. He was brought before the High Council long ago, young beaten, bloodied and scared. At the time, he was a mere toddler, barely able to walk. His parents had been ordinary folk from New Coruscant, assigned to a military corps within the ever expanding Galactic Alliance Army. They had been sent on a mission on the Outer Rim, to squash an evil resistance on some desolate world Zak could care less about. He intended to forget completely by the time his training was complete; he had already washed away the name of that planet from his mind. Zak's parents had brought him to the war inflicted system, newly birthed and curious about the worlds underneath his crawl.

The Council told Zak the fate of his parents, at the earliest possible time when he could understand more complicated concepts than asking for nerf milk and nap times. A few days after arriving on the scene his parents had perished in a violent and ruthless ambush made by a small gruellia-tactics force. Zak had remained hidden, crying as his mother and father were brutally slaughtered. He had wished the Council did not tell him those fine details; he might have been better off not knowing the truth.

But somehow, Zak needed to know. His parent's fate was better told by his superiors. Had Zak found out what happened later than that, he surely would have been devastated, being lied to and being filled with happy memories. The truth was better than happiness, he always found.

A frown enveloped on the padawan's face as he shut the blinds, separating himself from his surroundings, and in the darkness he began to reach into the Force.

* * *

Vez Sheeno sat at the controls of the massive defense station, Delta Command, waiting. He watched the data screens keeping track of the arrivals of several colony ships, tirelessly. He was getting annoyed with their rate of arrival.

One by one, they arrived through hyperspace, docking with the gigantic space stations orbiting the Capital, which sent out smaller transports to deliver colonists and troops back to their homes after participating in a long experiment commissioned by the Senate; an experiment that had been long debated since the end of the Great Deadlock. In the history lessons back in the New Coruscant Education Center, Vez had learned that the experiment was needless, and the only reason the project went underway was because of a last minute election called by the Senate so many years ago. The construction of several colony ships was ordered years and years ago, and so, it had begun, coinciding with Millennia Day. The reigning government ultimately decided that it was only appropriate to have the original settlers to arrive on the much anticipated holiday.

In order to be suited for isolated colonization, the ships carried large, pre-constructed bases and tiny factories to construct speeders, consumables and other needs. They had everything but comlinks, which were prohibited in the experiment, which main purpose was to see if colonies without a federal reign could survive on its own and able to return without trouble. That and bring more planets and resources under the Alliance's control.

It was all nonsense to Vez; government propaganda.

Hundreds of the aging colony ships dropped out of hyperspace near the Covey asteroid field every hour, bringing home hundreds of thousands of Alliance diplomats and generals to their families. Some cried with tears of joy as they saw their relatives steadily step onto the landing platform from their transports, carrying a large bag of luggage. Others laughed, reminded of the memories that they have had with their loved ones. Others cried, because of death. Many did not survive the twenty-five year long expedition into the unknowns, simply because of being so far away from home, isolated from their families, friends, the places that they knew and the food and drink they had been accustomed to back home. The stress had become too great, and the results were often disastrous.

As each colony ship arrived, they were accounted for, with about a dozen or so left to arrive from their journeys. Fireworks were not scheduled to begin until after the last ship had arrived. The organizers did not want to disappoint the immense crowds waiting for the new Millennium to come; they wanted to set a record for the most spectacular show in the Galaxy. The mission had an ambitious goal and was difficult nonetheless.

Another hour later of tedious waiting, the second to last colony ship arrived. The usual reunion on the landing pads happened, during the black of night instead. The crowd eagerly anticipated the last colony ship.

The new Millennium would not start without it.

"New Coruscant Delta Command, have you got a trace on _Courier_ yet?" the static littered the comm as the Mon Calamarian Commander, Frykal, spoke.

The voice of the seasoned, yet young, man replied with a heavy sigh. Vez couldn't have been more than twenty standard-years old. "Negative, Commander. Let's hope that their signal has just been scrambled by the asteroid belt."

"You better hope, Lieutenant Vez. There are a trillion spectators down there waiting for the last ship so that Millennia Day can begin. Find that ship!" Frykal's voice sounded furious about the lack of work Vez was putting into his job.

Vez shook his head topped with brown hair and lit with bright, green eyes. His nostrils flared at the sound of Frykal's angered, yet watery and gurgled, voice.

The link between Central Command and Delta Command was cut off.

_Great_, thought Vez, _What a way to spend Millennia Day..._

He had hoped he would spend time with his friends and family, joining the crowds waiting for the supposedly spectacular fireworks display. Instead, Vez would have to watch them from the sky, aboard the space station, Delta Command. All alone, with the exception of several worker droids, sitting in a leather lined chair. A frown crept across his face as he thought of his previous meeting with Frykal the day before. The fish like alien had told him that he would have to look over Delta Command and look after the incoming traffic of the colony ships. A big pay was at stake, and as soon as Vez saw the seven figure number he immediately jumped for the assignment.

But he would give everything in the world right now to be down there; it was a once in a life time chance, at least for a human of course. There hadn't been a celebration this big since the downfall of the fabled Empire. A massive, galactic celebration held across thousands of worlds took place, including several backwater planets that would other wise have no other reason to hold a feast, or a fireworks display, or parades.

Vez closed his eyes and dreamt about how it must've felt on that day, almost several hundred years ago. The soothing sound of his own breathing tried to lure him to sleep, but the annoying and continuous noise of a roller droid kept him from crossing the line separating reality and dreams. Along with dreams however, came nightmares.

His period of day dreaming on the job came to an end when a monotonous beeping came from the control panel in front of him. Opening one eye, he saw that the receiver had picked up a signal; possibly _Courier_ had arrived just in time for the celebration. He smiled and opened the comm way to Central Command, linking to Frykal's comlink, "Commander, I have a signal coming in. Could be _Courier_ coming through the Covey asteroid field."

Frykal's voice crackled over the comm, some interference was evident, possibly the crowd firing off some illegal displays early, "Excellent, comm them in lieutenant. You can leave Delta Command as soon as she docks. Have a happy Millennia Day, Vez."

"You too Frykal," Vez cut the Mon Calamarian off, and he regretted saying that to the commander, the one who put him up here star gazing on the biggest day in his lifetime.

He yet again operated the comlink in order to communicate with the incoming signal, and as he did he whistled a tune from the hit Holo Network movie, _Days of Sovereignty_, an epic drama recreating the Trade Wars five hundred years earlier; the hit film was a favourite of many critics across the Core.

"Incoming craft please designate your name and destination." Vez said, sounding his best. He waited.

There was no answer sent back, just the scrambling of static and the occasional whine of the machinery within the room. Vez thought this was strangely peculiar.

"I repeat, please designate your name and destination." Vez asked once more.

No reply came back yet again.

Vez opened another comlink to Starfighter Command, ones who were patrolling the endless skies of New Coruscant to keep everything under control. His fear in losing his job and his pay was becoming constant. "Starfighter Command, do you copy?"

The voice of a delicate, yet somewhat hardened female answered back "I copy Delta Command. This is _Rancor_ Leader."

Vez recognized the voice, almost jumping for joy. "Great, sis, you're up here too? Why are you wasting your time, Viol?" Vez had a grin on his face, one that his older sister could not see over the comlink.

"I'm helping the Galaxy for a greater good, little brother." Viol said, "At least I'm not sleeping on the job like you usually do." Viol stopped with a laugh over the comm.

"Yeah, but who has the bigger paycheck?" he laughed with his sister while leaning back on the control chair, spinning carelessly. "Anyways, back to business." He said sternly.

"What do you need done then?" Viol asked.

"I want you to go to these coordinates. Check the place out for any star ships. It could be _Courier_, but they're not responding to any of my messages." Vez informed, transmitting the information to his older sister.

"It's probably just a malfunction or interference from the asteroid field. I'll get my squad to check the place out." She said in reply, her voice now turned from relaxing to sternly. Vez was still getting used to the military side of her sister, having just joined the Galactic Army himself.

The comlink between them turned off leaving Vez alone once again. He let a sigh loose from his anxious body, anticipating Millennia Day with an intensified fear of not seeing his family, let alone his sister Viol, today.

* * *

From the Covey asteroid field came a hideous, jagged piece of twisted and deformed space junk. Viol wondered if this was the thing sending out the signal as her Gunblade starfighter zoomed closer towards it. She looked at several data screens that were embedded into the control panel of the aged fighter, curious about the object her astromech droid had just finish scanning for lifeforms and operational systems. There were a few life signals, although none matched any of the crew's unique signatures. Only two power sources were evident; the hyperdrive and the ion sublight engines.

Viol watched as her comrades sped past her, taking a closer look at the crumpled star ship. Her astromech had just confirmed that it was indeed _Courier _after analyzing several modules that had matched _Courier_'s undamaged self. Viol was confused, however. Maybe the ship was beaten up in the asteroid field while coming in and resulted in the unfortunate death of thousands aboard. But she had been told that ships entering through the field were equipped with repulsor shields. Viol wondered how else could _Courier_ been beaten up like this. Maybe its internal systems failed and rendered the repulsor shields useless? She understood that all colony ships were sent to planets assumed to be uninhabited or to explore regions of the unknowns beyond the Core, perhaps maybe...

Her astromech had just interrupted her thoughts with a flutter of beeps and whistles, telling her upfront that radiation was leaking into space from the wreckage.

"Be careful Rancors. Don't want to get close to that thing. There's a radiation leakage." Viol warned her fellow squad mates.

"Copy Rancor Leader," Several pilots said in unison, now aware of the dangers before them.

"Emperor's black bones, what happened to _Courier_?" one pilot remarked over the comlink, cussing.

"Cut the chatter, Rancor Seven. We don't know yet. We're going to have to get a scanning crew up here." Viol replied, fighting through the furious beeping of her droid.

Cutting off her comlink to the rest of her flight, she answered the droid. "What do want, Beep?" She asked.

The droid answered with a few worried whistles and coos, fluttering through data and screaming in distress.

"What do you mean... other ships?" Viol raised a brow, worried.

The little astromech droid sent a set of coordinates to Viol's screen. Apparently, starships of an unknown origin were dropping out of hyperspace directly behind _Courier's_ wreckage on the other side of the Covey asteroid field. Beep was in a whirl of excitement, almost traumatized.

"Hang on to your circuits there, Beep." Viol reassured the droid. "Let's check out the ships and see if they have the proper clearance. I don't think any other ships were supposed to arrive." Viol said, rerouting all power in her Gunblade to the sublight engines.

Beep replied with a few toots and a long whine, signaling his reluctance to go and investigate. "We a slight change of objectives, Rancors. Follow my lead." Viol transmitted the new objectives to each of their view screens. With a flick of a button, her Gunblade boosted towards the fleet of star ships overlooking the asteroid field.

* * *

The incoming fleet came closer and closer as Rancor squadron moved in through the Covey asteroid field. Gigantic spherical shaped balls of shining metal were grouped together in six clusters of five ships each. Each of these spheres must have been at least as long in diameter as an ancient Imperial Star Destroyer. Dotted on the surface of the ships were what seemed to be weapon emplacements or maybe sensor arrays, blistered in protective plating, but Viol was unsure if these ships were hostile.

"Hold your fire Rancors. We want to try our best not to piss these guys off. They could have weapons concealed in their hulls by the looks of it." She ordered.

She quickly established a communications link between the unknown fleet and her starfighter.

"Incoming ships please designate your name and destination."

Garbling and moaning filled the comm, with the occasional hiss or high pitched whine.

"Are you alright, unknown fleet? Come in at once."

The reply was nothing more but more screeches and moaning. But seconds later, Viol heard the formation of words unlike anything she had ever heard before.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I cannot understand a word you're saying. Do you have a protocol droid on board?"

Again, the same thing came through the comm; the mix of monotonous moaning and static, along with murmurs in a strange, unknown language. Annoyed, Viol put her comlink down, snapping it into its proper place on the control panel. She sighed to vent out her intensified irritation. Once more she reached for comlink, but didn't try to establish communication between her and the mysterious fleet again, instead, she tried to reach for one of her squad mates.

There was nothing but static.

"Beep, find out what's wrong. I can't reach anyone on my comlink."

The green painted astromech just whistled and twirled his domed head.

"What? We're being jammed? This means trouble," she reached for her laser trigger. Viol withdrew her hands after realizing what she had wanted to do; blast the entire fleet. It was both unacceptable and impossible to fire her fighter's laser cannons in hope of getting the attention of the unknown fleet. Firing her weapons could spark a bolt of hostility.

She immediately changed her mind after watching one of the nearing sphere ships light up at several different locations across its surface, and saw brightly lit objects streaking past her starfighter. Beep screamed after witnessing the fighter being grazed by what seemed to be a fast moving missile.

"Oh, Sith spawn! Beep, try and relay a message to Delta Command. Tell them we have unknown hostile forces just outside the Covey asteroid field," she desperately reached for her comlink while somehow simultaneously avoiding incoming fire, "Rancors, if you can hear me, fall back to Muscave and lead them there, away from New Coruscant."

Static once again filled the comlink.

"Damn it all!" Viol furiously slammed the comlink back down and grabbed the weapons' control module and clenched hard on the firing button, letting a burst of laser fire fly towards the gigantic sphere shaped ships. She had gotten close to them now, a mere klick away from what seemed to be the equilateral line that separated the upper and lower hemispheres of the capital ship. Her laser bursts dissipated against a shimmering yellow force field, sparking against the invisible wall and ultimately vanishing. Viol's face twisted with disgust as she pulled away in time to avoid incoming missiles. She was glad to know that the rest of her squad received her message, after seeing them attack the ships in the same manner as she had done so.

Their attacks were futile against the force fields that protected the mysterious fleet of ships. The enemy space crafts' yellow glow absorbed the energy as the Rancors continued to try to hammer the fleet with puny laser bursts.

"It's no use," Viol muttered under her breath. Beep screamed in terror once more, transmitting data to Viol's screens. More signals, but they were much smaller, about the size of their fighters, and they were much faster. Red, flashing blips appeared on her radar, approximately a hundred or so of them. Viol glanced at one of the fast moving objects as they past her fighter; a starfighter with uneven structure and outcroppings of metal sprouting from flattened wings. Another whizzed by, but it was much different in appearance, but kept the similar design of the others in mind. Lasers rocked her starfighter as the enemies released barrage upon barrage of intensified laser fire. Viol could already see carbon scouring on her snub fighter's nose cone. Her shields were down, and all she could rely on now is her hardened ability for flying and Beep, of course.

Seconds later, however, resulted in the destruction of Rancors six, seven and nine. All three exploded in brilliant flashes of light, like one of the illegal fireworks set on display on New Coruscant.

Moments after, Viol's canopy sparked and was engulfed in fiery flames. The burning sensation ran through her body, causing everywhere on her skin to bristle with sharp pain as the inferno burned through her flight suit. She heard her brother over the comlink transmitter. Viol wanted to answer, but her hands were gone. Her short life ended after a few fractions of a second more. She was lost in the black abyss of space.


	3. Chapter Two: The Dark One

**CHAPTER TWO – The Dark One**

"Rancor squadron, please come in." he shut the comlink off and then on again seconds later, "I repeat, _Rancor_ squadron please come in."

Vez put the comlink back and sighed, _what has Viol gotten herself into now?_

He became aware of several ships moving in system and moved towards the holo screen displaying red blips. They were moving through the asteroid field, and apparently, Vez had lost contact with Viol just outside of the Covey belt. His worries began to swell, and his impatience was throbbing intensively. He wanted to regain control of the situation.

There was a tint of fear in his whispering voice. "I have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

The fleet moved through the Covey asteroid field in mere minutes by making several micro jumps meticulously over the belt. Their sights were fixated on New Coruscant, filled with bustling and anticipating vermin waiting to be scourged by the Yevethan fleet of Viceroy-class thrustships and hundreds of Yevethan fighter craft. The Yevethan craft were a mind boggling one-thousand-six-hundred meters in diameter, encased in heavy armor and strong deflector shields.

Primate Nag Sunra stood on the bridge with a blood stained grin, his red crest stretched out from his forehead to his plated scruff with two more extending from his cheeks; a sign of preparation for battle. His eyes were nothing more than tiny black beads watching New Coruscant from his flagship, _Destroyer X_. Underneath his grayish green and leathery skin, his heart pumped with anxiety, and his brain pulsed with excitement. He could feel the beat from outside his brain cage, placed in his upper chest. He yearned for the blood of the vermin. After so many years in isolation, the Yevetha were starving for revenge. Now they had a fleet, an army and a terrible leader and apprentice.

Nag had been chosen by the Blessed himself to go and whittle the vermin's confidence and pride down to nothing. To attack on their most precious and joyful holiday was essential to breaking them. They had to thank the unfortunate crew of _Courier_ for arriving all those years ago, supplying them with the data they needed. Sending it back just before the fleet would attack would result in the ultimate humiliation of the military of the Alliance.

Someone interrupted his thoughts, "At what extent do you hope to succeed in, Primate Nag?"

He had heard the deep, low sounding mechanical voice from a distance, echoing amongst its electronic systems. Nag had turned to see a cloaked figure clothed in black robes and hood, pacing steadily towards him.

He then realized that it was the presence of the blessed one's apprentice, he who went by no name. He was part vermin and part mechanical terror constructed by the great smiths of Giat Nor.

"I was not aware of your being on this important trip, Dark One."

The black creature stopped a few feet away, facing the Yevetha strategist, "The _darama_ has ordered that I oversee your actions, and make sure that you do not fail. If you do so, I am obliged to terminate your entire command and replace it with a much more efficient team."

"I see _etaias_. This daring mission will go as planned. The vermin have no idea what we have in store for them. Their deliberation is near and will be just." Nag growled.

"Do not underestimate the enemy, Primate Nag," the dark clad one said, pointing his gloved index finger at the Yevetha's chest, "This is only the first phase in my master's plan. If we succeed here, there will be more battles spread out across thousands of star systems."

Nag snarled, "I do not know why the _darama_ chose a filthy vermin over many hardened blood warriors as his personal apprentice," he growled again, more ferocious than the last.

Then the Yevetha felt a tight grip on his frail neck.

"You see, Primate Nag, the superior being wins. They always win. I sense a feeling of distrust in you, common for the xenophobic alien you are. You could've been strong," he let go his invisible grip on the Yevetha, throwing him to the cold floor, "but you had to be weak. And the _darama_ sees no more or no less of you."

"I would slit your throat, if you weren't nothing but the mechanical abomination you are, Dark One. But then, I fear that I would be slaughtered as well, no?" the Yevetha got up to his clawed feet, grinning mischievously with his blood smeared teeth.

"You have _much_ to learn. The wrath of the Dark Side is the strongest force in the Galaxy. Do not tempt me to use it against you, again, Primate Nag."

The Yevetha just circled the apprentice; his beady eyes set on the hooded face of the dark creature, and said, "You speak the truth. Leave me to my duties, and I will leave you to yours. This attack will surely be devastating against their defenses. I assure you."

"And what if your promise breaks?"

"Do what you will."

"As you wish, Primate Nag," the apprentice said solemnly, turning to leave. His swift, dark cape flowed like a gentle river as he moved. As soon as Nag was alone, he immediately set off to the decontamination chambers in preparation to land on New Coruscant.

* * *

"Uh, Commander Frykal, we have a slight situation here." Vez had stated, and by the sound of his voice, his nervousness and fear had grown considerably between the time of Rancor's disappearance and now.

"What is it now, Vez?" the gurgled voice of Frykal was almost too much to bear for Vez, as tears started to swell behind his eyes as a result of fear of losing his sister, but he managed to fight them back.

"Um, Rancor flight... I've lost all established contact with them. I can't read them on the scanners either. They've... disappeared." He confessed the terrible news.

"What? How is this possible?" Frykal's anger grew with Vez's fear, so it seemed.

"Well, uh, sir, we have a massive fleet of unknown origins heading directly towards New Coruscant. Thirty of them," Vez swallowed hard, hitting a lump in his throat which made him more nervous, "We... have no idea if they have destroyed Rancor squadron or merely escorting them and _Courier_ back to New Coruscant. All we know is that they won't make contact with any of our stations."

"This is suspicious, but I'm assuming this fleet is nothing more but a tourist group. But to send these many ships at once at the height of Millennia Day is unthinkable. I will send _Kulklar_ to investigate. If they will not comply with our terms, I am assigning you to take care of matters. I _trust_ that you can do that."

There was that word again, _trust_, the very word that got Vez into this mess tonight. He cursed every language that bore the word in their dictionary under his breath. All traces of communication with Frykal were gone in an instant. Vez's chair hovered to a nearby viewport, and he cringed at the sight of the _Kulklar_, the most powerful space cruiser in the sector. The super vessel was a massive and bulky three kilometer ship, but unfortunately close to retirement; a replacement ship was being built in the shipyards of Fondor, twice the size of the _Kulklar_.

The mysterious fleet could now be seen from the naked eye to Vez. In complete horror, his lower jaw dropped and his pupils widened out of amazement and fear. Vez had never seen such ships in his life. Large spherical balls basking in New Coruscant's luminous sun as if they were jewels from the deep mines of Txiin. If such things had weapons, the _Kulklar_ would not be able to stand a chance, let alone the defenses of New Coruscant and neighboring planets and systems combined.

* * *

_He is nothing more than an itch_, he thought, _nothing more, nothing less_.

He walked past several Yevetha in the seemingly endless corridor, ceasing their little conversation for a moment and cringing from his unnatural scent. He did not bother to discipline them for their incompetence. The repulsive muttering and gossip would be handled later... much later.

He continued walking at a decently fast pace. His black cloak did not allow him to blend in with the pure white background of the access tunnel aboard the thrustship. He noticed a service droid hovering by, as small as a womp rat. It was very unusual for a droid to be aboard a ship of Yevethan descent. Yet again it was even more unusual for himself to be the apprentice for the Viceroy, their so called 'Blessed One'.

And it was more unusual that there was no Viceroyin the first place. Not a real Viceroy anyways.

His plan would soon commence. The ultimate fall of New Coruscant was at hand. The event was unavoidable. The Alliance only has feeble warships to battle his force of ferocious mechanical terrors. They had only worthless vermin to combat with his merciless armada of Yevetha soldiers. Their little party would be interrupted almost too suddenly, to leave everyone shocked and dazed as the newly reformed Duskhan League pummeled the city of New Coruscant. It was his destiny to do so.

He could feel the future in his grasp.

The so-called apprentice continued walking down the bare corridor of the immense spherical ship, thinking of what would become of the Galactic Alliance, as well as the New Duskhan League, in the next few years.

* * *

Aboard the _Kulklar's_ bridge stood Admiral Prekto, a male human with short brown hair and icy blue eyes and a cunning military mind. He was dressed in his white uniform which he was wearing during the ceremony of Millennium Day, where he was told that he was needed. The situation was an emergency, he was told. He did not enjoy being interrupted during the biggest event since the fall of the legendary Galactic Empire.

"Captain, give me a status report." he ordered in a disgruntled manner, turning to an officer clad in a blue uniform standing beside Prekto.

"We're all clear, Admiral. The _Kulklar_ is moving towards the Covey."

"Good, good. Any word on Rancor squadron yet?" Prekto asked, concerned about the safety of the elite squadron.

"No, not yet, Admiral, we'll tell you if we do."

Prekto turned away from the captain, dismissing him from the bridge. A frown formed up on his wide face as he saw the enemy fleet emerge from the depths of the Covey asteroid field. He had not seen anything like it. As of now, scholars, pulled from the celebration abruptly, were searching the archives for such vessels or anything similar.

Prekto instantly knew his own sputtering outrage was beginning to blind his tactical mind, having been pulled out from the celebration and separated from his family during this joyous occasion. He was unable to think clearly and effectively. What was he supposed to do with one war cruiser against a massive fleet of thirty? Of course, reinforcements have been called in.

In order to prevent widespread panic, nothing was broadcasted over Holo Net. The whole thing was called over in total secrecy to keep the peace. Prekto was told that three fighter carriers, six destroyers and five gunships were called to reinforce and keep everything in tip top shape for the celebration.

Now he only had to worry if he would make it back in time to see the much anticipated display of fireworks.

* * *

Nag Sunra was dressed in a white ceremonial robe, prepared for the massive blood shed to come. The Yevetha primate closely examined every detail on his dress, making sure he was clothed properly for commanding his fleet of starships.

Nag walked towards the room's only table, where a type of emblem laid. The symbol was a red circle with two equilateral triangles placed around the crimson-colored dot to create an almost diamond-like formation. Nag recognized this instantly as the official symbol of the recreated Duskhan League. He took the hand stitched emblem and tacked the meaningful symbol onto his plain looking war dress with extreme preciseness and carefulness. The symbol of might and ruthlessness now hung from the right side of his chest.

Nag was proud to be a Yevetha, even more satisfied to be the High Primate, even if the present Viceroy was not suitable to rule over Nag and his kind. If only society would allow him to pass on the rank of Primate to become the Blessed One.

The primate grinned at the thought as he pulled on a black robe, "Imagine the possibilities," Nag whispered to himself.

He straightened his robe's collar and left his living quarters with a decent amount of confidence. The battle will be his to win and for the vermin to lose.

* * *

Nag had arrived on the bridge shortly after, accompanied by only two other beings on the rather not so spacious command deck.

"Vermin battleship identified as the _Kulklar_. Your commands, _etaias_?" an anxious _nitakka_ primate asked. Nag nodded with the confirmation of the enemy battleship.

Nag watched the vermin ship close in on his fleet of thrustships from the forward command deck. He felt eager, with a bit of nervousness inside of him. Nag placed his hands behind his back, wrapping his fingers around each other and turned his head slightly to the left to see the _darama's _apprentice approaching.

The Yevetha bowed in respect as well as the others in the bridge. The Dark One stood in front of the primate and commanded Nag to reside his previous stature. Nag complied and nodded his head.

"The _darama_ has given me direct orders, Primate Nag, to begin the battle. You may fire when ready," the apprentice said.

Nag replied with his rising fist, gesturing for his officer to comply, "Concentrate all fire onto the incoming vermin craft!" said Nag in his native language.

His inferior commander processed the orders through the main terminal, transferring targeting data to the gunners of _Destroyer X_ and other thrustships. Within a few minutes, the leading five thrustships unleashed hell; a fiery barrage of red laser fire and missiles headed straight for _Kulklar_. Nag stood beside the _darama's_ apprentice and had a devilish grin on his face.

* * *

"The enemy has fired!" cried one of the officers aboard the command deck of the _Kulklar. _Prekto's attention was fixated on New Coruscant's brilliant display of fireworks until the officer had alerted him of the incoming onslaught of disastrous projectiles and laser bolts. He approached the three officers that accompanied him on the bridge.

Prekto turned and nodded calmly, "Get the shields up to full power immediately."

"Yes sir!" the tallest officer replied, rushing towards the main controls and Holo Net receiver.

A few seconds later, a yellowish glow surrounded the _Kulklar_. The incoming wave of energy and particle weapons slammed into the deflector shields, dissipating or exploding upon contact. Explosions dotted the _Kulklar's_ surface in a wondrous pyrotechnic display of red and orange colors. Prekto turned towards his company of three officers, "Lower the shield and retaliate with our own weapons."

* * *

Nag Sunra slammed his fists against a control panel, angered at the fact that the vermin had managed to evade their first attack. Now they had deployed their own weapons. Nag was shocked to see the vermin use such tactics. He turned towards the _darama's_ apprentice, "You told me they would retaliate with peaceful intentions! You are a liar!"

"Calm yourself," the Dark One said, "We outnumber them greatly. We shall win the day."

"Don't be so sure of yourself you piece of vermin..."

Nag felt a tight grip on his frail neck and heard the Dark One's voice rumble, "Remember, Primate Nag, I am the superior around here. You will do as I say and nothing more. If we return to N'zoth, the _darama_ will have your head, either we win or lose."

The Dark One dropped Nag from his invisible grasp. The alien struggled for to breathe, wheezing heavily as he tried to get a gulp of air into his fragile lungs. His beady black eyes blinked in disbelief and a look of displeasure appeared on Nag's once expressionless face. He rose to confront the Dark One.

Nag pointed a sinewy finger to the Dark One's chest, "You will regret this."

"Somehow I know I won't, Primate Nag. Now divert all power to shields and move the fleet closer to the Alliance command ship. Then release the gravity bombs and get this over with."


	4. Chapter Three: First Battle of New Corus...

**CHAPTER THREE – First Battle of New Coruscant**

Prekto watched his ship's armaments glide towards the unknown attackers. He was not surprised by the fact that the deadly assault did not penetrate the enemy's shields. Prekto knew that if a ship was spherical in shape, the shields could be drawn at full defensive power with a minimal amount of energy.

"Halt the attack." Prekto said, gesturing towards his audience.

One of the officers pulled out a small comlink and mumbled an encoded message. The others approached Admiral Prekto carefully.

"Sir, High Command has recommended we wait for the reinforcements. I've just gotten off the transceiver with Commander Frykal on the surface. _Enticement_ is on its way from Bilbringi," one of the officers reported.

"He sent for a super class ship?" Prekto asked, knowing that the _Enticement_ was one of the largest ships in the fleet. The war cruiser was a behemoth at ten thousand meters long.

"Yes sir," the other officer replied, "It will be here in two standard hours."

"We can't possibly have a super ship here. It will spark panic down on New Coruscant, can't you see?"

"That is irrelevant next to the fleet of attackers upon us, admiral. We must take the chance."

Prekto frowned, crossing his arms in disapproval, "I do not agree," he turned towards the viewport, "Move the _Kulklar_ to point blank range and launch the starfighters."

"Isn't that a little risky, sir?"

"Moving the _Enticement_ is also risky. I suggest you quit contradicting yourself, officer, or you will be dismissed from your post."

The officer to the left clenched his teeth, but nodded with respect towards his superior commander. Prekto smiled, knowing that his substandard counterpart couldn't see beyond his back.

* * *

"_Etaias_, the enemy is moving forward into attack position. Shall we answer with our own fighters?" one lesser primate asked in the native tongue of the Yevetha.

"Tell battle groups one and two to focus all firepower on that ship, _nitakka_. They are to dispatch their fighters to counter the enemies own as well." Nag Sunra replied.

"The gravity bombs have been laid before them, Primate Nag. Why do you wish to waste precious shots against an already losing enemy?" the Dark One asked, turning to the Yevetha primate.

"That is merely _our_ way Dark One. The way of the Yevetha is to exterminate the vermin to make room for the Pure and the Blessed himself and to make the Glory stainless and perfect." Nag said, trying to prove his point.

"And so you use overkill. You Yevetha have much to learn. If you want to take out your opponents effectively, you must not waste time, energy or pride. That is your one weakness and so it shall forever be your death; dishonorable and wasteful."

"We survived the Gods, didn't we?" Nag retaliated with an angered breath. "We survived their wrath that laid waste to the spawn world a millennia ago. That is not a mere victory, but a revolution that will be remembered by generations to come." The Yevetha proudly stated with a bloody grin.

The Dark One lashed out with his anger at the alien's continuing incompetence, reaching for the Dark Side to immobilize the gullible Yevethan primate, "They were _not _the Gods you praised, Primate Nag. They were nothing more but brutes, like you. And that was what had cost them their lives as an honorable species. Their own Gods lead them to failure. I do not hope the same for your own kind, Primate Nag. You are not totally _worthless_ as you are known to be."

"Your words do not scare me, Dark One." Nag admitted. "Neither does the will of the Blessed. Only the actions of the Gods inflict terror upon my pure soul. Believe what you believe, and I'll believe what I believe." Nag had let his opinion be known with the Dark One, a rare and unusual trait with a Yevetha.

"You wretched Yevetha are no more but savages, with the exception of the Viceroy," the Dark One continued. He wanted to end this pointless argument now, so he pointed to the _Kulklar's_ moving image that was portrayed as a hologram, "For now, focus on your duties. We will never have this discussion again? Understood, Primate Nag?"

"For the good of the Glory and the Pure, I must comprehend with your will, Dark One," Nag looked at the _nitakka_ commander and spoke in the Yevethan tongue, "With hold your fire until my command, _nitakka_."

"Of course, _etaias_, your will be done."

* * *

The _Kulklar_ lumbered towards the fleet of the unknown attackers, with its guns firing spontaneously and almost randomly. The massive hangar doors opened, and the magnetic field was clear for fighters to proceed. The fighter armada consisted of a wing of Gunblades and a few squadrons of H-wing starbombers, which were close to being classified as gunboats instead of starfighters given their large size and amount of heavy weapons.

The fighters hummed alongside their mother ship like piranha beetles to their hives, speeding past the _Kulklar_ in a hurry towards the attacking fleet.

Prekto watched his fighters as little green dots on the holo projector aboard the bridge. He knew the fighters would cause an annoyance to the enemy until reinforcements would arrive, and until all hell breaks lose. Prekto pulled out his personal comlink, issuing an encoded message to the gunners of the station. He stared at the holoscreen afterwards, and watched as the _Kulklar's_ guns aligned up perfectly and fired in strategic bursts.

He was shocked to see most of his fighters gone from the holo projector.

Squadron by squadron, Prekto watched his precious little green blips disappear from sight. The Admiral's anger grew immensely as he grinded his teeth in protest. He saw one of his officers' approaching him.

"Sir, we are detecting gravity anomalies to port and star board side. Our hull is taking structural damage. Module cabins A1 through B37 is experiencing life support leakage." The nearby officer grimly said, pointing out the damage on a data screen to the Admiral.

"What the hell are these things?" Prekto asked, grimacing at the sight of several flashing alarms.

"We are expecting an answer to that very soon, Admiral. Sooner than what we had hoped for." Another captain reported, stern and swift to react to the Admiral's constant questionings and orders.

Another officer approached with a worried expression plant on his red, tiring face, trying to keep the earnest tone in his voice. "Sir, it is recommended that we evacuate immediately. Our reactor is going critical."

"Already?" Prekto questioned, startled by the news. "We haven't even reached our destination!" the Admiral bit his lip, pondering about the circumstances he was in. "Alright," he said relunctly, "Ready the escape pods. Order a full evacuation."

_And she was only a day from retirement_, Prekto reminded himself, _what_ _a shame... what a waste._

* * *

"_Etaias_, the enemy is scattering. The vermin are retreating back to their spawn world." The lesser primate reported from his situation place behind the controls. Sensors had indicated many smaller craft being dispatched from the _Kulklar_, as the capital ship began to detonate.

Nag nodded towards the _nitakka_, confirming his pleasure "Excellent. Send the fighters to intercept." The High Primate ordered. His lips curled, revealing a touch of insanity and a taint of greed to the Yevetha's countenance.

"As you wish _etaias_." The nitakka replied, fidgeting at his superior's breath.

Nag looked towards the Dark One, still smiling with a visible sign of greed and power, hoping he had cracked the apprentice's self-image. The Yevetha noticed that the apprentice did not bother to look back, most likely in fear of disrupting his ego. Nag's overconfidence in his independence began to swell to great length.

* * *

Dozens of escape pods launched from their holdings aboard the crippled ship. Flashes of light erupted in space, and the helpless crew watched their beloved Kulklar crumple under the sudden gravity changes in the void of space. Part of the hull had spilt, emitting a fiery explosion and spilling loose cargo and even the bodies of the people that were not able to make their escape in time. Most of the escape pods were ordered by Admiral Prekto to make for Muscave Station.

Prekto watched the stars through one of the many view ports in his rectangular pod, strapped down with crash webbing. He heard an unusual pitch scream by. He looked out into space to see speeding pieces of space junk... or rather enemy starfighters.

The escape pod shook after taking several laser bolts. Prekto's crash webbing was the only thing keeping him from violently rolling around in his safe house.

"Get to the laser cannon!" he cried, pointing to the pod's gunnery controls.

"Yes sir!" a daring commando saluted, unbuckling his webbing and carefully making his way through the crowd of refugees. He was nearly knocked down by another blast.

Finally he situated himself behind the control panel and took a hold of the trigger arm. The commando squeezed the trigger lightly while staring at the targeting computer, aiming his shots.

Prekto witnessed a ball of fire appear outside his port side window, with red laser bolts streaking past the inferno, "Good shot!"

The commando sent another burst of deadly laser fire towards another ugly starfighter, blasting one after another. A third blast rocked the escape pod. Prekto looked over to the gunnery station, only to see the once joyful soldier engulfed by a wave of blue sparks and red fire. The danger quickly passed, but death soon replaced it.

The commando was dead, electrocuted by the deadly blast that had also claimed the life of the laser cannon.

"Sith spawn! Redirect the engines. We have to shake those things off!" Prekto commanded.

The escape pod shook violently seconds later. Prekto realized that it was not a mere laser blast, but that the _Kulklar_ itself had vanished and replaced by a ring of vibrant colors and a splash of electricity. The sudden eruption sent a ripple through space, with the wave of energy pushing the escape pod towards its new destination; New Coruscant.

* * *

Nag watched with delight and satisfaction as the image of Kulklar disappeared from his tactical analysis screen. A burning sensation of triumph had shot up his spine, soothing his brain and quenching his thirst for conquest of the vermin.

The controlling nitakka had reported with a sneer, his beady eyes filled with delight of the destruction overshadowing the loss in Yevethan Starfighters. "Target destroyed, _etaias_, although several escape pods have jettisoned from the mother ship."

"Good, good. We'll get them soon enough," Nag assured the young _nitakka_ with a bloody grin. Soon enough will the vermin taste defeat and the power of the Pure.

The jewel of the vermin, or new Coruscant as they called it, inched towards Nag's greedy clutches.


End file.
